Jailed Rwandan editors turn to African Commission

Among the 232 journalists imprisoned
around the world are Rwandan editors Agnès Uwimana and Saidati Mukakibibi, who are serving years-long
terms on charges they defamed the president, Paul Kagame, and incited violence.
Their crime? The women had published a series of stories in 2010
on several sensitive issues the Kagame government doesn't want scrutinized. The
articles criticized government agricultural policy, examined the July 2010 murder
of journalist Jean-Léonard Rugambage, described the falling-out between Kagame
and two now-exiled military leaders, probed divisions within the army, and
pushed for justice for ethnic Hutus killed in the 1994 genocide. The editors
have exhausted domestic appeals, but now a team of defense lawyers is pursuing
a complaint with the African Commission on
Human and People's Rights on grounds that Rwanda violated its obligations
to ensure freedom of expression and the right to fair trial.

"Rwandan
courts never gave us justice," Uwimana, editor of the Kinyarwanda-language
bi-monthly Umurabyo, said in
comments relayed to CPJ through a local contact who visited the editors in
Central Prison in Kigali. Said deputy editor Mukakibibi: "I am punished for a
crime I did not commit. It was clear that whatever evidence we gave fell on
deaf ears." Mukakibibi said the editors were "not prisoners of justice but
prisoners of people who feared the truth behind our stories."

While
Umurabyo sometimes had a taste for
the sensational, local journalists told me that it also raised important
questions about public issues and provided an independent voice in a nation
that, under Kagame, has few such news sources. Umurabyo closed after the two women were arrested
in 2010, which critics say was the government's intention in pursuing the
prosecution.

The
two were originally convicted on charges of divisionism and genocide denial, in
addition to the defamation and incitement convictions; Uwimana was sentenced
to 17 years, Mukakibibi
to seven years. CPJ research shows that Rwandan authorities have a record of
making highly charged accusations of genocide denial and divisionism against
journalists who are critical of Kagame. Numerous news outlets have been forced
to close and journalists have been driven into exile as a result. In April
2012, the Supreme Court tossed out the genocide and divisionism convictions and
reduced Uwimana's term to four
years and Mukakibibi's
to three years.

The
injustice, while diminished, remains profound, their lawyers say. The
proceedings "left Agnès and Saidati guilty until proven
innocent, which is in violation of the international right to a fair trial and
in particular the right to the presumption of innocence," said Nani Jansen, a lawyer
with the Media Legal Defence Initiative,
a London-based nonprofit that provides legal services for journalists. Jansen
is part of a team that includes London attorney John Jones and Rwandan lawyers
Evaliste Nsabayezu and Jean-Clause Mukikira.

The
defense filed a complaint in October with the African Commission, which has
agreed to hear the case, Jansen said. The complaint alleges local authorities
violated their obligations to ensure free expression and fair trial as
guaranteed by the African Charter
on Human and People's Rights, which Rwanda ratified in 1983. The commission
could recommend the editors' release and other remedies, including financial
compensation. Jansen said that while the commission's rulings are not binding, a
decision in favor of the editors would "send a clear signal to the Rwandan
government and hopefully set a positive precedent for other journalists in the
country who are
prosecuted for simply doing their job."

Imprisonment
has taken only a toll not only on the editors, both of whom are single parents,
but on their families as well. "Living in prison is like a living hell. You can
spend a month without seeing sunshine," Uwimana said. Perhaps the hardest part,
though, is being away from her youngest child, who is 5. "My
son is still too young to be without parents and to understand the situation," Uwimana said. "Sometimes I feel like I am a bad mother." Mukakibibi said her family has
struggled to pay school fees for her children. Her teenage
daughter has had to take responsibility for the entire family. "It's a big
challenge taking responsibility for 15 people," she said, one that entails
scuffling to pay the bills and dealing with crises such as roof damage caused
by heavy rains.

Yet
both women say they plan to continue their professional work upon their
release. "I will go back to journalism if we get a license again," Mukakibibi
said. "Or, failing that, I will work as a freelancer."

Tom Rhodes is CPJ's East Africa representative, based in Nairobi. Rhodes is a founder of southern Sudan’s first independent newspaper. Follow him on Twitter: @africamedia_CPJ

1 comments

Thank you Tom for your continued efforts to highlight the plight of not only these two persecuted journalists but also the grim environment in which independent journalists operate in Rwanda.
I am optimistic about the work of this commission and we hope it comes with due strenght and objectivity and a hand of justice.
It is obvious that it will come under pressure from the Kigali government,which is now out and about wrecking, buying, paying off and compromising independent minds.
The outcomes of this commission, whether respected by Kagame or not, will make a great impact esp. in painting a picture about the current government and its future.
And whether we are dissappointed or otherwise about the outcomes of the commission as the media, our position is going to remain clear-That Mr Kagame is a media predator and has to be stopped!! His Guns shoot pens policy and direct aggression against independent media should noot have a place in Rwanda today!!

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